Written Output and the Least Restrictive Intervention

Hey Tek-Ninjas! Lately I've been fielding a lot of questions about voice dictation for young children (first through third grade).

Here are my thoughts on the subject...

• In Occupational Therapy grad school, professors told us that the best opportunity to impact handwriting is up until the end of third grade. With this in mind, I never want to jettison handwriting instruction/therapy too soon. 
• In special education we discuss the importance of placing children in the "least restrictive environment" to help them be successful. Meaning: too much support is just as bad as not enough support. I feel the same way about technology...if a student can learn to use standard available word processors, that is ideal.  Our hope is that a student could enter any library and access any computer for word processing. If they need special software or hardware, that becomes less likely. 
• Voice dictation requires a relatively clear voice (though this is getting better all the time) It also requires fairly succinct sentences, or you get a lot of "uhms", "errs", and other filler phrases. Along with these necessities, one needs a fairly thick skin, aka a strong frustration tolerance. Apple's Siri is remarkable, and I've spent no time with the Android version, but hear it too is good. 

All that considered, sometimes a student's handwriting is just simply not functional. So, while their peers have already learned the task of writing, and are now learning with their writing, some students are still learning to write, and missing the next level content. 

In such a situation, if feasible, I like to introduce word prediction, and have the student engage in keyboarding instruction daily (10-15 minutes tops). The only way to become proficient keyboarding is to practice, and use it regularly.  For longer assignments we might ask the educational team to provide a scribe, thus allowing the student to focus on his/her content and not the arduous task of writing.

If the team envisions the child being able to learn and utilize keyboarding, that is my first choice. If not, then we consider voice dictation, knowing that we will ultimately be binding that child's productivity to a specific piece of equipment and software. 

I'd be curious to hear how other's navigate such questions. Thanks, and happy therapy!

Helping your Student Get their Clang-n-Bang Needs Met!

Greetings Tek-Ninjas. It's been a long and glorious summer. Alas, backpacking, mountain biking, and fishing will slow down dramatically with the return of school.

Clang-n-Bang!

Even so, in order for me to stay productive and focused, I must incorporate movement and a little "bang-and-clang" contact with others. Some would refer to it as my sensory diet.

Recently a friend asked me to recommend something for his rambunctious 4th grader. She also craves movement and crashing into stuff. Her teacher notes that she wiggles non-stop in class.

I am a huge fan and advocate for martial arts. But not all martial arts offer the same experience. It's good to consider what your student (or you) will most benefit from. In our area there are multiple types of martial arts; Ninjutsu, Akido, Tae Kwon Do, Karate, Folk-style Wrestling (America's Martial Art!) Jujutsu, and Brazilian Ju-jiutsu just to name a few.

Primary Differences

Some martial arts are formal, and require a student to stand at attention and follow specific protocols, others are less formal and relaxed. Certain forms focus on punching and kicking, other's involve grappling on the ground to control or dominate your partner. Another distinction is whether the form incorporates learning long katas (prescribed choreographed movements) or short katas (moves). Also, does a school offer kid specific programs. A final distinction I make is whether or not the school participates in competition.

None of these distinctions make a school good or bad, but they are simple distinctions which may better suit a specific student.

Quest

Locally, my favorite school or Dojo is the Chapel Hill Quest Center (QC), which teaches Stephen K. Hayes' To-Shindo Ninjutsu. Both of my sons, and I trained for several years at QC.  QC offers a blend of formality with relaxed friendliness. They offer a robust youth program which trains near-by the adults (meaning you and your child can train simultaneously), allowing you to be a role model for your youth. To-Shindo Ninjutsu is a blend of strikes, throws, wrist locks, and grappling. This art form uses short katas (ideal for folks who struggle learning long patterns), and is non-competitive. They offer a "Mighty Dragons" program for very young children which resembles an Occupational Therapist's sensory motor playground.

I'm also a fan of Folk-style or collegiate wrestling. This involves a lot
of physical contact, short moves to learn, competition, and self discipline.

A final consideration, parents may find it useful to talk with the staff and ask specific questions: i.e.: is your school comfortable working with kids with _______ (autism, Aspergar, sensory issues, or some other consideration). Some will be uncomfortable, others will jump at the opportunity to help your child reach his or her potential. Go where the staff are excited to work with your child.

Hajimé!

A Little Help FOR Our Friends...

Hey Tek-Ninjas, don't we love it when we find a great app? How about when we like an app a lot, and make a suggestion or two, and those suggestions get incorporated in the next update? How cool is that?!?!

Well the good folks at ModMath built an amazing app. I wrote about it awhile back (read my blog here).  They built it originally with their own son in mind, but to date around 27,000 people have downloaded it, so clearly, we like it. And, folks are making a lot of great suggestions for various updates.

I really like this app. It is a stand out because it allows math students to complete their assignments without writing out answers longhand. And it's purposefully built sans calculator so the teacher can see if a student doesn’t understand the concept, or has simply made a computation error.  The app builders, Dawn and Josh Denberg could feasibly leave the app as it is, and walk away feeling successful. However, they would like to make it better, and they want to incorporate many of the ideas users have suggested. In order to do so, they will need some money. They indicate that "An upgraded ModMath 2.0 supporting advanced algebraic equations is about $25,000. An Android version with the exact same features will cost $30,000".

Dawn and Josh have started a ModMath Kickstarter campaign.  For this first iteration, they are asking for $20,000 and in about a day, they are already half way there!

If you like ModMath, if you would like to see a more powerful/robust version of ModMath, or simply need a worthy place to donate, consider supporting their fundraiser! Also, be sure to "Like" their Facebook page.

Happy Therapy!

A Note-Taking Conundrum

Researchers and educators have suggested note-taking-by-hand produces greater efficacy for learning than note-taking-by-keyboard. Supporting this notion, Pam Mueller and Daniel Oppenheimer*, posit that handwriting may create deeper processing of the content.

Mueller and Oppenheimer conducted three studies, and concluded that subjects who took notes via keyboard were able to generate more written product.

Students who took notes keyboarding were not as capable as their handwriting peers in remembering factual details, demonstrating conceptual comprehension, or synthesizing the material.  

According to Cindi May**, who writes for Scientific American:

"What drives this paradoxical finding?  Mueller and Oppenheimer postulate that taking notes by hand requires different types of cognitive processing than taking notes on a laptop, and these different processes have consequences for learning.  Writing by hand is slower and more cumbersome than typing, and students cannot possibly write down every word in a lecture.  Instead, they listen, digest, and summarize so that they can succinctly capture the essence of the information.  Thus, taking notes by hand forces the brain to engage in some heavy “mental lifting,” and these efforts foster comprehension and retention.  By contrast, when typing students can easily produce a written record of the lecture without processing its meaning, as faster typing speeds allow students to transcribe a lecture word for word without devoting much thought to the content."

For those of us working with students with special needs, who are doubly challenged by handwriting this becomes even more complicated. If the student cannot read his/her writing, what than? If the student's rate of handwriting is half the speed of his/her peers, what than? There are the obvious benefits of being able to quickly reorganize and edit word-processed work.

So, food for thought. No answers here, but when we make recommendations to switch a student to keyboarding, and possibly jettison handwriting, we need to consider the whole impact. Perhaps, we switch students, but ask the team to continue addressing handwriting. It may be that the student benefits from keyboarding notes, and then taking a short-hand set of notes at home.

I'd be curious to hear reader's thoughts on this.

Happy Therapy!


*Pam A., M., & Daniel M., O. (2014, January 16). The Pen is Mightier Than the Keyboard: Advantages of Longhand Over Laptop Note Taking. Retrieved September 12, 2014, from http://pss.sagepub.com/content/25/6/1159

**May, C. (2014, June 3). A Learning Secret: Don't Take Notes with a Laptop. Retrieved September 12, 2014.

OT Problems, OT Rap about Occupational Therapy

Too cool for my fellow OT's out there!

Storysmart: A Very Interesting Story!

What happens when a veteran Speech Language Pathologist marries a Designer, and they have a child with High Functioning Autism?  

Well... if the moons align correctly, you get some really fabulous apps!

Jennifer Minnelli is the SLP, and her husband Pete Minnelli is the Designer.  Integrating their unique skill sets they founded a company called Rubycube which creates mobile apps for children with high functioning autism, ADHD, and other social challenges. Currently they are producing a series of apps called Storysmart.

Their website describes Storysmart as a "suite of apps that provide both a recreational and therapeutic activity for elementary-school aged children and are designed to help them develop social communication, social cognition, critical thinking and narrative skills."  That is a tall order, but I'd have to say the apps definitely have that ability.  

Ultimately, the Minnelli's plan is to create six stories in the suite. Currently there are two ready from iTunes.  The stories are very reasonably priced at $3.99 a piece.  In addition, the Minnellis intend to make the apps for the Android platform soon.

Passage Choices

Each story presents a page at a time. The artwork is very sweet and endearing, some of it animated, some of it static.  Each page is clean and uncluttered.  The story can read itself, or just each word you touch, providing scaffolded reading support. On each page there are generally two passages that allow the user to choose what the most socially appropriate passage for the situation would be.  Prior to using the app, the user is able to record their own responses for correct and incorrect answers, and when they choose the passage, one of the recorded messages is played, thereby reinforcing the correct answer.

Therapeutically speaking, this app packs a whole-lot-of-punch for SLPs, OTs, or educators who bring their clinical reasoning tools with them.

Tool Bar

There is some nice functionality built into the programming such as the ability to turn the music on or off, change the font, return to the beginning, email Rubycube.  In addition, there is a brief educational section called "Parents" but useful for therapists or educators as well.  All of these features are easily accessed through the tool bar at the bottom of the page.

One feature I'd like to see added would be the ability to either significantly enlarge the font, or change the contrast. The inherent difficulty would likley be that this might change the layout of the pages, but it could make the app more accessible for those with visual impairments.

As noted above, Rubycube has two stories ready to be purchased:

1. Trudy Goes to the Beach: focuses on what is expected on a family vacation.
2. Casey's Big Day: focuses on what is expected from a student on his first day of 5th grade, including modulation and transitions.  

They are working on the following:

1. Ruby Gets in the Game: focusing on playing a team sport, and the nuances of following directions, paying attention, and getting along with others. 
2. Mario's Big Reactions: focuses on modulation and appropriate problem solving. 
3. Pia Stands up for Herself: focuses on navigating friendships and self advocating.
4. Aaron Plays it Safe: focuses on personal space.

If you work or live with a youngster struggling with social skills for any reason, Rubycube's Storysmart suite is  a "must-have" set of apps. 

Happy Therapy!

Guided Access! Apple finally delivers!

If you follow my blog, you may remember an article I wrote called "Disable the Home-Button on your iDevice!" 

I was soooo pleased with that bit of code writing (which I had nothing to do with writing) and that I was able to bring it to users.

Well, with the new OS update that code is no longer necessary!

From the "Disabling the Home-Button" article, I wrote:

"Okay, so if you've worked with students using an iDevice, you've had the experience of them hitting the home button to "explore" before you were done with the lesson. Oftentimes undoing whatever progress they were making. Very frustrating, and thus creating our Love/Hate relationship with the "home" button!"

Apple's latest update OS 6 now offers a feature called "Guided Access".  Guided Access addresses the issue more elegantly than I could have hoped for.

Just click on Settings. Then click on "General" Down towards the bottom click on "Accessibility. Then, under the "Learning" category click on "Guided Access". You will be given clear directions on how to use this function. Follow the prompts and you will be delighted by how easy you can use the function.

In addition, when setting up the Guided Access, you can designate aspects of the app which will not function, allowing you to control your instructional session precisely.  Refer to the video below to see this in action.

Teachers, therapists, and parents have been asking for the ability to disable the home button for some time. Apple heard us, and went above and beyond what we wanted.

If your still using an iPad-1, alas, this OS update is not for you. But, you can still use the code from aforementioned article.  

Once again, Happy Therapy!

Interesting Site for Parents of Children with Special Needs

Interesting site... Some good writing, and I really like this poster from their site.


CLICK HERE FOR SITE

Down Town Psych... A little something for you Tech-Ninjas!

Hey Tech-Ninjas! I realize I'm not writing much these days, but summer is full, and


I'm spending much needed time with my lovely wife and two sons. I'll get back to writing soon.


In the meantime, here is a great blog which focuses on technology and folks with ADHD. Really great practical solutions.


Check it out: Down Town Psychology.